A maintenance worker at the Orleans Parish Justice Center was arrested for aiding in the escape of 10 inmates this past weekend. Sean Richardson has more.
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One of Governor Landry’s priority bills advances to the Senate. Andrew Greenstein reports it’s quite divisive. Andrew Greenstein reports.
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A 33-year-old Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office maintenance worker, Sterling Williams, was arrested for aiding the escape of 10 inmates from the Orleans Justice Center, as announced by the Attorney General Liz Murrill.
Williams confessed to turning off the water in a cell as instructed by an inmate, enabling the group to escape through a hole behind a toilet. Murrill says he was identified after reviewing footage and interviewing employees who had directly interacted with inmates.
Williams faces 10 counts of principal to simple escape and malfeasance in office. Murrill says its an ongoing investigation and urges anyone involved to turn themselves in.
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According to an arrest affidavit, Williams said one of the inmates threatened to stab him with a makeshift knife if he didn’t turn off the water.
Four out of the ten inmates have been captured.
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The House has advanced a bill that would prohibit diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives in state offices and public colleges. The vote was 57-to-32, with three Republicans joining Democrats in voting no. The vote came after two hours of impassioned debate. More than a dozen Black Democrats took to the house floor to denounce Baton Rouge Republican Emily Chenevert’s bill, including Candace Newell of New Orleans, who called it the most racially offensive piece of legislation she’s ever had to debate.
Edmond Jordan of Baton Rouge says Chenevert’s bill is an anti-Black bill.
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A pair of Republicans offered a rebuttal to the Black Democrats’ arguments. Gray Republican Beryl Amedee took exception with the concept of equity.
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Chenevert delivered a heartfelt plea in support of her bill. She says her bill does not codify discrimination.
Chenevert said she filed the bill to keep the state compliant with President Trump’s executive order to retain its federal funding for state universities. The bill now moves to the Senate. Governor Landry is in support of the bill.
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The House Transportation Committee approves a Senate bill that is attempting to prevent speed cameras that issue cameras from operating outside of school zones. Monroe Senator Stewart Cathey says these cameras are unconstitutional and the citizens of Louisiana agree….
Several local police departments oppose the legislation. They say cameras that issue speeding tickets help with highway safety, but Cathey argues manpower improves public safety…
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Shreveport Mayor Tom Arceneaux testified against the bill. Arceneaux says speed cameras in school zones have helped to reduce speeding in front of schools and the city plans to install speed cameras outside of school zones…
Cathey’s bill, which has already passed Senate, would result in local officials being charged with malfeasance if speed cameras were used outside of school zones.
Shreveport’s Chief Administrative Officer Tom Dark says the city does not have the physical ability to send officers to run radar. He says the speed camera has shown it’s an effective tool to get motorists to drive at the speed limit…
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Cathey’s bill heads to the House floor for more debate.
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The 2025 Louisiana Survey polled one thousand Louisiana adults and once again, the economy is the top concern of the state’s residents. The director of the Louisiana Survey, Doctor Michael Henderson of LSU, says that’s a shift from a year ago, when crime was the top priority.
Henderson says homeowners’ insurance is a challenging issue for current and potential homeowners with rising premiums.